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Up 94 per cent: The supermarket items soaring in price

Coles supermarket woman shopper in front of apples and cash in cash register
It really depends what you are buying in the supermarket but the price of some food items are rising rapidly. (Source: Reuters)

Shoppers are copping inflationary pressures in nearly every corner of the supermarket, and prices are expected to keep rocketing skyward.

Average supermarket prices were up 2.6 per cent from this time last year, said Joel Gibson from One Big Switch.

That increase may sound trivial but Gibson said some products were rising much quicker than others.

“Some individual products have gone up by 50 or 70 or 94 per cent,” Gibson said.

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“If you're buying, for example, lots of soft drinks, instant coffee, and canned foods like baked beans, and spaghetti, then those things have gone up quite steeply.”

These little purchases add up over a single bill.

Brisbane mum of four Jasmine Williams told Yahoo Finance recently her shopping bill had inflated to around $500 a fortnight from around $350 a fortnight to feed her family of four, including one being gluten-free.

Why your shopping is getting more expensive

Gibson said there were several factors behind your ballooning grocery bill.

The first is high petrol prices, which has driven up the cost of transporting goods around.

While a cut to the fuel excise in the Federal Budget offered some relief, Gibson said fuel still remained fairly expensive.

He also said global supply chain issues, driven by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, were driving up the cost of other commodities such as aluminum and carbon dioxide, which explained the sharp price rise for a can of fizzy drink.

The recent floods just added fuel to the fire, driving up the cost of fresh produce. He said consumers had been charged $8 for a single head of cauliflower last week.

Gibson warned the worst was yet to come.

“All the factors driving up prices are still in place at the moment,” he said.

Food manufacturer SPC has been warning customers canned goods will continue to increase this year.

Arnott's biscuits were also tipped for a price hike.

Some prices rising fast

Data collected by One Big Switch and Frugl last month showed soft drinks spiking the highest.

  • 2L Fanta up 94 per cent at Coles

  • 2L Coca Cola up 55 per cent across both major supermarkets

  • Kirks 10 cans up 70 per cent

Other major increases included:

  • Nescafe & Moccona instant coffee up 50-74 per cent

  • Diced beef up 22 per cent; Basic Beef mince up 14 per cent

  • Oils up 19 per cent

  • Branded canned fruit up 17 per cent

  • Baked beans and tinned spaghetti up 21 per cent

Gibson said people could avoid overspending on groceries by paying attention to unit pricing, planning meals before hitting the aisles, shopping at more than one supermarket to “pick the eyes” out of the deals and doing an occasional shop at discount stores to stock up on non-perishable items.

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